Brown Baggin’ Thru History

Guest Speaker: Susan Talbot-Stanaway Topic: World War 1 on the Ohio Home Front: “Your Country Calls!”From 1917 through 1919, thousands of Ohio men and women engaged in the battles of the “Great War.” At home, in community organizations, on the farm, and in the workplace, Ohioans were exposed to new roles, new beliefs, and a new sense of national unity. People, young or old, were urged to support the families of soldiers, to purchase war bonds and stamps, to dig and tend Victory Gardens, to undergo the hardships of rationing, and to report spies and hate the “Hun.” Ohio women, many of whom were already suffragettes, entered the workplace for the first time, supported wartime charities, and joined organizations like the Women’s Land Army. Ohio manufacturers and their employees, shifted to producing munitions, dramatically increased their work forces; some actively recruited African Americans from the South to operate assembly lines. Immigrants from overseas were exposed to programs that would “Americanize” them. This presentation will explore how Ohioans participated in the Great War and how participation shaped important social and political changes.